Policies & Statements

BCA Policy is used to guide BCA in all its operations and, as such, is very important. Any new policy or changes to existing policy must, therefore, be ratified by the AGM, and only then following extensive consultation to ensure that the planned policy does not conflict with the complex layers of BCA's work.

The following is a suggested process that will help ensure successful Policy development:

1. Definition of Purpose: A clear definition of the purpose of the change, agreed by Council.
2. Responsible Author: A single named author should be appointed by Council, whose job it will be to consult as widely as possible.
3. Draft prepared by Author:
4. Draft Circulated: The Draft should be circulated as widely as possible, initially to BCA Executive, and then to all Council, Constituent Bodies, Regional Councils, Standing Committees and Working Groups with date for reply. This will usually be at least 6 weeks later.
5. Further Drafts circulated as appropriate: This should follow the process above.
6. Ratification at Council: The full document should be sent to the Secretary - and then circulated as for Draft Minutes at least 2 weeks prior to the Council meeting, and ideally more, to allow consultation.
7. Ratification at AGM:

BCA has the following Policies:

• Access

• Child Protection

• Conservation

• Disability & Discrimination

• Fixed Aids

BCA has the following Statements:

• Equity

• Participation

It is the stated primary aim of BCA (enshrined in part 3.1 of the Constitution), “to support members of the Association in obtaining, ensuring, maintaining and encouraging the development of access arrangements at a national, regional and club level in accordance with national, regional or club practice”. But it must be borne in mind that caves are situated under land. Both this land, and the land that most commonly has to be crossed to get from the public highway to the cave in question is owned by somebody.

Whether in any particular case the land in question in either of these two categories becomes “Access Land” (under the CRoW Act 2000), is really neither here nor there, because the law in England and Wales, (where CRoW operates), is quite clear. The owner of land is deemed to own everything down to the centre of the earth, so that he/she also owns the cave itself, and the CRoW Act does not alter this. It merely allows people to have access to certain land that they did not hitherto have, strictly “for the purposes of open-air recreation”.

In some respects this might at first appear to be unfortunate. On further thought it most probably is not so. Both cavers and landowners are most likely better served through the well-established cave access arrangements that are currently in place than would be the case under a free-for-all.

BCA has a Child Protection Policy and also Child Protection Guidance for use by member clubs.

The Policy was last amended at the 2009 AGM.

BCA has an extensive Conservation Policy that can be purchased from BCA Publications Sales for £3.

BCA offers its membership and services equally to all individuals regardless of sex, race, creed or religious conviction. It also offers its services through membership to caving clubs, mining history societies and all other allied organisations that are formally constituted with a constitution and/or objectives document that is not perceived to be in conflict with its own.

The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) came into full effect in October 2004. This does not mean that caving clubs should now be spending huge sums of money in order to make all corners of their establishments accessible to all. The operative word is “reasonable”. Actions should be reasonable bearing in mind all of the circumstances of the situation. Caving is not an activity that is ever going to attract wheelchair users or blind persons in large numbers. On the other hand there are many simple safety measures that can easily be carried out at most locations - that unnecessary step at the front door, or that huge threshold, or that dangerously-projecting worktop, for instance.

Positive ‘can do’ attitudes towards inclusion are possibly more important than concrete actions. For the larger clubs with premises, appoint a Disabilities Officer and ensure that he/she reviews matters on a regular basis.

According to Section 4.7 of the BCA Constitution:

BCA will make its services available to all sections of the community and there will be no discrimination on grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, creed, colour, occupation, religion or political opinion.

The aim of this policy is to improve safety and to provide guidance for those who place fixed aids. It is not the aim of this policy to make progress within a cave or mine easier.

The objectives of BCA under this policy are to enable the provision of fixed aids that are inspected regularly, and, where appropriate, testing, maintenance or replacement carried out. The number of fixed aids covered should be kept to a minimum, and where possible, alternatives should be considered. Where alternative routes are safe and reasonably practical, consideration should be given to the removal of existing fixed aids.

BCA recognises that caving, cave diving and mine exploration are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.